Pool is bad for your health.

The excitable Mr. "Cannafax" mentioned in the article for stabbing himself repeatedly with the pocket knife was actually Robert L. Cannefax who later used that pocket knife to rip up the cloth on the match table when it was not to his liking. That ended his pro career.

Here is Michael Phelan's take on the physical benefits of billiards from his 1865 "Manual of the Game of Billiards." Phelan more or less invented the modern table.

Exercise to be efficacious for good even in the healthy, must be excited, sustained, and directed by that nervous stimulant or odic force, as it is called, which gives the muscles the chief part of their strength, and contributes to the sustenance of the parts in a state of activity. In short, to obtain the full advantage of the nervous stimulus in exercise, we must be interested in what we are doing. Billiards supplies this excitement, and, therefore, it is, that the exercise which we take at the game is so particularly healthy.​
He failed to mention that you can also maintain interest by betting your room rent.
 
...and there's this:

"As a man grows older and more proficient at his work, his opportunities for advancement normally increase, but the opposite is true for a pool player. It is rare that you find a pool player who ever accumulates anything other than empty dreams and promises, because when pool players reach their peak and become famous, they find that no one will play them. The saddest thing is not having a game, so they accept bad games and take chances. One of the early world champions, Emmet Blankenship, wound up as a sodden, one-armed hobo. The legend has it that he was bitten on the hand in a fight and drank away the pain. Infection and amputation followed; one might say that he lost his arm to drink, but he lost his soul to pool. Ralph Greenleaf, 14 times a world champion and a man who could make his cue stick talk, finished broken and a heavy drinker, dead at 50."

From:

Easy Times The Hard Way
After long years on the hustle, pool shooter Danny D realizes that he bought a dream. He has also discovered—too late—that the price was exorbitant

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092683/1/index.htm
 
I've spent years mastering Mosconi's "crushing expression of disdain" as mentioned in the article . It's more valuable than any shot in my arsenal.
 
The article ends like this:

Even after eight years away from the pressures, years spent in nothing more taxing than promoting billiards for Brunswick Corp., Mosconi is firmly convinced that the world's best player is still Mosconi. "I always did think so," he says. "No one is ever going to change my mind, even if they beat me."


Doesn't that ring a bell?

I'm the best you ever seen, Fats, I'm the best there is. Even if you beat me I'm still the best.

(Stick with this kid, he's a loser.)
 
Bob...and then there was that drug addiction Greenleaf had. That didn't help him any either.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Bob Callahan said:
... Ralph Greenleaf, 14 times a world champion and a man who could make his cue stick talk, finished broken and a heavy drinker, dead at 50."

From:

Easy Times The Hard Way
After long years on the hustle, pool shooter Danny D realizes that he bought a dream. He has also discovered—too late—that the price was exorbitant

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092683/1/index.htm
Click to expand...
 
Pool really is bad for your health. Fifty years of playing pool has made me lose my hair; I've had to start wearing glasses; and I've gotten all wrinkly.
 
This thread came up when I was searching for info about Emmit Blankenship. I read in Roodle's book about him winding up broke hobo with one arm gone ! But I don't believe everything Roodle (Fats) says. hehe
But I guess its true. He won the World Championship in 1916 I beleive. So maybe hard to find info !


Fats' parents called him Roodle.

:rolleyes:
 
Googan in the news

According to Sports Illustrated article, a "googan," which is a square pool shooter. "

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092683/1/index.htm#ixzz1ATOy0Jqp


Bob Callahan said:
...and there's this:

"As a man grows older and more proficient at his work, his opportunities for advancement normally increase, but the opposite is true for a pool player. It is rare that you find a pool player who ever accumulates anything other than empty dreams and promises, because when pool players reach their peak and become famous, they find that no one will play them. The saddest thing is not having a game, so they accept bad games and take chances. One of the early world champions, Emmet Blankenship, wound up as a sodden, one-armed hobo. The legend has it that he was bitten on the hand in a fight and drank away the pain. Infection and amputation followed; one might say that he lost his arm to drink, but he lost his soul to pool. Ralph Greenleaf, 14 times a world champion and a man who could make his cue stick talk, finished broken and a heavy drinker, dead at 50."

From:

Easy Times The Hard Way
After long years on the hustle, pool shooter Danny D realizes that he bought a dream. He has also discovered—too late—that the price was exorbitant

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092683/1/index.htm
Click to expand...
 
Sure was nice when Sports Illustrated/Time used to post articles about pool. I like this line: "The game had turned his hair grey at 21, and during tournaments he used to lose eight pounds.........." :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Good heavens!
I'm a googan and didn't even know it.
Are you a googan, too?
I bet most of us here are....
 
Thanks again Bob for this gem of an article. Very fun read. I printed off a copy to share with friends who are coming over to play tonight! Thank you!
 
Googans Anonymous will meet here every Sunday night at 10 PM.

As part of the 12 steps recovery system, the first step is recognizing that you're a Googan.:D

Bob Callahan said:
Good heavens!
I'm a googan and didn't even know it.
Are you a googan, too?
I bet most of us here are....
Click to expand...
 
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